by Joyce
“Wait a minute.” Brian put his arms into the sleeves and pulled the robe closed around him. “Dorothy did something to me. You’re not telling me everything.”
“The important part is that we saved you from the evil sea witch who wants to kill you,” Dorothy said. “We brought you here, and now we’ll have some tea.”
“Is orange spice good with everyone?” Elsie asked.
I shook my head.
Elsie puttered behind the counter looking for tea. “What about chamomile? That sounds soothing, doesn’t it?”
“You turned me into a poster,” Brian accused Dorothy. “And it wasn’t for my own good either. You were angry because I’m seeing the most wonderful woman in the world. You can’t compete with that. I’m sorry. We’re over. I have to be with her.”
“Over?” Dorothy wrinkled her nose. “I didn’t know we ever got started. I don’t care who you see. If she kills you, don’t come haunting me.”
The conversation was going downhill quickly.
“Brian, I know what Dorothy did was wrong,” I told him. “But it really was for your own good. This is what’s been happening to the other young male witches who have been murdered. You aren’t strong enough by yourself to fend her off. She’s very powerful.”
He stared at me with glazed eyes. “I’m leaving. I don’t want any tea. Just stay out of my life.”
Dorothy grabbed the sleeve of the robe he wore. Another impassioned plea for understanding was on her lips. But Brian was gone—leaving only the robe behind.
“He can do that too?” Dorothy asked.
Elsie giggled. “I hope he’s heading back for his apartment. Anywhere else could be embarrassing.”
CHAPTER 28
Through the night to the witches’ feast,
Through the night and up the street,
Baskets are passed with a Merry Meet!
Through the night on silent feet.
“I guess that’s over.” Dorothy sat down hard on a wood chair.
“What do we do now?” Olivia asked. “We can’t just let him go to his doom.”
“I invoked a tracer spell on him as I handed him the robe. We should be able to keep tabs on him.”
“That was brilliant, Molly,” Olivia said. “I was wondering why in the world you’d want to cover up that gorgeous form. I was beginning to think you were getting old for sure.”
I ignored that remark. “Elsie, do you remember where we put those binoculars?”
“Not really. But I can look.”
“What are the parameters of the spell?” Dorothy asked. “I know someone said there had to be parameters.”
I nodded. “It’s true. And they have to be very close to the individual person. In this case, we’ll be able to track him if he goes within one hundred feet of the water. I think the sea witch takes her victims to the water. We’ll know if that happens.”
“But we should be able to keep track of him with this anyway.” Elsie took out an old telescope. “I couldn’t find the binoculars, but this should work, right?”
She moved it away from her face where she’d looked through it. It left a black ring around her eye. The rest of us burst out laughing. “What?” she asked without realizing what was wrong.
Dorothy gently took the telescope from her and used a tissue to clean the eyepiece. “Here’s one for you too, Elsie.”
“I don’t know.” Olivia considered Elsie’s face. “I think the raccoon look is good on her.”
Elsie cleaned her eye while Dorothy looked through the telescope. “What am I looking for?”
“All you have to do is say Brian’s name when you put it up to your eye,” she told Dorothy. Dorothy said Brian’s name and looked into the telescope. “There he is. He went back to his place. He’s leaving in his car.”
“I hope he’s not going to meet that awful sea witch,” Olivia said.
“If he does, we’ll know,” I said.
“How are we going to rescue him if that happens?” Dorothy asked.
“I think our best bet is to find the sea witch before it happens,” I told her. “I’m not sure yet how we’re going to do it, but it would be better than waiting for her to kill him.”
“Maybe Joe has some ideas,” Olivia suggested.
“I’d rather not involve him in this. If the sea witch has enough power to kill Brian, she could definitely kill Joe.” I mentally apologized to the Bone Man. Finding his wife was going to have to be put on the back burner for now. I wanted to keep Joe safe, but the danger to Brian was more imminent. “We’ll have to look up what we can find on the habits of sea witches while we keep an eye on Brian.”
“What about Belinda?” Dorothy asked. “Remember when my mother was killed and we could see some of what happened to her? Maybe we could see what happened to Sam.”
Elsie groaned. “Do we really want to see that?”
“We might not have any choice.” I agreed with Dorothy. “It could give us some clue to what the sea witch looks like.”
“Good idea, Dorothy.” Olivia applauded her daughter, her hands making no sound.
“We could get a look at the memorial book too,” I said. “It’s possible that the killer has been among us and we didn’t know it because of her disguises. They say a killer always goes back to the scene.”
“That sounds ambitious to me,” Elsie said. “I might need a nap.”
We spent a few hours in Smuggler’s Arcane looking through dozens of books. We had a huge collection of magic treatises on various kinds of witches from around the world.
“Every one of these says the same basic thing,” Dorothy finally said. “But all the sea witches in the world can’t be the same.”
“I’m sure they aren’t.” I stared thoughtfully at the book I’d just perused. “We’re all different, but we have similar characteristics.”
“It seems to me that the only thing sea witches have in common is that they kill when they mate,” Elsie added.
“We need more personal information about this witch,” Olivia said. “I think we’re wasting our time here, girls. We need to get our boots on the ground if we hope to save Brian!”
We woke Larry and took him back to his boat before we headed to Southport. Joe had texted to let me know that the few leads he and Suzanne had been chasing had led to nothing.
“How’s that working out with Joe and Suzanne, Molly?” Olivia asked from the backseat, where she sat with Dorothy.
“It’s fine. There’s nothing but the job between them now. I can feel it when I talk to Joe.”
“I hope you’re right,” Elsie said. “There’s nothing worse than having some strange woman in bed with you and your husband.”
Olivia laughed. “I don’t know. I never had a husband, but a strange woman isn’t all that bad.”
“What are we going to say to Belinda when we get there?” I asked. “I hate to get her hopes up that we can find Sam’s killer. I’m sure she and her coven have similar ideas.”
“I think she’ll be glad for anyone to try anything,” Olivia said. “It’s better than people forgetting about Tyler.”
“We won’t be stepping on anyone’s toes going out there like this, will we?” Dorothy questioned.
“I don’t think so,” I replied. “We’ll see how Belinda reacts and go by that. I don’t want to have hard feelings with her coven.”
“But it’s more important to keep Brian alive, right?” Dorothy continued. “Even if he never forgives me for turning him into a cardboard cutout, I’d like him to stay alive.”
“I think we all agree on that,” Elsie said. “Brian’s almost a member of our little group. We can’t let some traveling hussy take him out.”
We got to Southport a short while later. I was surprised to see Joe and Suzanne at Belinda’s house. His SUV was parked on the road. He an
d Suzanne were across the street on the beach. There was an area marked by crime-scene tape and guarded by a uniformed police officer. I assumed that was where Sam had been killed.
“Please try to be cautious what you say around Joe and Suzanne,” I said. “I know it seems that Joe is impervious to the council seeing or hearing him, but we still have to be careful with Suzanne.”
“Molly.” Joe greeted me with a quick kiss on the cheek. “What are you doing out here?”
“Sam and his mother are part of our club,” I explained with a lift of my eyebrows for emphasis. “We had a memorial for him at Smuggler’s Arcane today. Belinda is such a good friend. We brought her a casserole.”
Dorothy actually held out a casserole dish. “That’s what we do in our club. When someone dies, we feed everyone.”
Suzanne laughed. “I think that’s what everyone in the south does. What kind of casserole is it?” She lifted the lid as I caught my breath, thinking it was only an empty dish. “Mmm. I love chicken and rice. It smells great.”
Dorothy quickly closed the lid. “Thanks. It’s a family recipe.”
“So what brings you out here?” I asked Joe with a quick wink at Dorothy for her inventiveness.
“Still trying to figure out what happened. We decided to visit each crime scene again and hope that we missed something we can use.”
“Is there any good news?” I asked him.
“I’m afraid not. We took our witness to the scenes and she drew a blank. We’ll keep looking until we have a break in the case. You know how it is.”
I did know how it was. Joe had been a homicide detective since I’d met him. He was methodical, and he never gave up. It was a difficult job that was sometimes very stressful. Some homicides cleared up quickly. Others were never solved, but he kept files on those and worked them on his own time.
“I guess we’d better go in,” I said. “Good luck. I’ll be glad when this is over.”
“So will I.” Suzanne smiled. “My goldfish misses me back in Savannah. Nice to see you again, Molly.”
Joe and Suzanne went back to the SUV. I saw their witness in the backseat. As they drove by us, I was holding my amulet. The face on the witness wavered, somewhat like Olivia’s ghostly visage.
I realized that the witness was using a glamour to disguise herself.
CHAPTER 29
Look and see, look and see,
You will never know it’s me.
“Who was it under the glamour?” Elsie asked.
“I don’t know. The face wasn’t clear. But I think the witness may be using this opportunity to hide with Joe’s help. She could even be the killer.”
“There’s nothing like hiding in plain sight!” Olivia suggested.
“How do you use a glamour?” Dorothy asked. “Is it like some magic makeup or something?”
“No.” Elsie turned away for a moment. When she turned back, she looked like a different person.
“Lana Turner!” Olivia said.
Dorothy took a step back. “She looks like Elsie below the head. Just the face is different.”
Elsie’s face blurred for an instant, and then she looked normal again. “Wow. That was hard. I wouldn’t want to try a full glamour.”
“So a witch can change her appearance?” Dorothy smiled and nodded. “Cool. Is that a spell or what?”
“It’s a spell, but a small one,” I answered. “It’s much easier to manipulate your appearance than to change Brian into a cardboard cutout. Even if you’re doing a full body, all it takes is a little concentration and thinking about what you want to look like.”
I walked away from her. When I turned back, her brown eyes were wide in her face.
“You look just like my mother.”
“Now, that’s not funny, Molly,” Olivia complained. “At least Elsie did someone we don’t really know.”
“It takes a lot more to do a person’s mannerisms and speech. You have to know your subject very well and concentrate to get it right.” As I spoke, I’d taken on Olivia’s voice and walk. I tossed my hair and wrung my hands as she frequently did.
“I’d say you’ve got that down,” Elsie said. “Do me now, Molly.”
I released the glamour I’d created and became myself again. “I think that’s enough about glamour for now. We’ll work on it later. Let’s go inside and see Belinda.”
Belinda and her sisters made up their coven. Elizabeth and Althea were there with her. The dining room table was heaped high with food, flowers and magic items to express sorrow at Sam’s death.
“I’m happy to see you again so soon,” Belinda said. “What made you decide to come all this way after we were just at the Arcane?”
“I know you’ve probably done some spells to discover who killed Sam,” I started. “We think Brian Fuller may be next. We came out to take a look—with your permission. We don’t want to cause any hard feelings, but sometimes extra eyes can be good.”
Belinda and her sisters discussed it briefly. “We’re fine with that, Molly, and welcome. Anything you can do to help catch Sam’s killer is wonderful.”
I took her hand. “I can’t make any promises. But just as the police look at the clues more than once, in this case, I think we should too.”
“You’ll have to do it.” Belinda started crying. “I can’t stand to see the shadows of Sam dying. I hope you understand.”
“I do. We can go over there without you. Elizabeth and Althea are welcome to join us.”
But Belinda’s sisters decided to stay with her. They felt the same about seeing their nephew’s death again.
Dorothy left the casserole on the table, and we walked back outside.
“You should’ve brought that with you,” Elsie complained. “I’m starting to get a little peckish after that lunch. The rice smelled wonderful. What made you think of it?”
Dorothy smiled. “I was thinking about other funerals I’ve been to. My adopted mother told me you never go calling on people who have lost someone without food. I saw the recipe on the Food Channel last night. It stuck with me.”
“Yes. She watches the Food Channel all the time,” Olivia verified.
“I think that’s just as good as you watching Antiques Roadshow all the time,” Elsie said.
“It was very clever anyway,” I congratulated Dorothy, “and some good magic. I like that you didn’t have to be stressed emotionally to do it.”
“Thanks, Molly.” She smiled.
We took our time walking across the narrow, sand-washed street to the beach access. There weren’t many houses at this end of Carolina Beach. Most of them were weathered and worn as though they’d been here for many decades. Some had a few new boards here and there from repairs to hurricane damage, but most had stood here facing the worst weather and survived.
I’d noticed that Belinda’s kitchen window faced the ocean almost at the exact spot where the police were guarding Sam’s crime scene. I couldn’t imagine anything worse for a mother than to have her child taken away.
The sea witch was clever and resourceful. If she was trying to mate, as Muriel had suggested, her path of destruction could keep growing. I thought again about Joe’s witness. It could be her. She would know what was going on all the time by staying with him, and her account of Sam’s death would protect her from the police—and other witches.
I hoped we’d be able to see the shadows of what had happened to Sam when we got to the murder site. We’d seen Olivia’s death—it had been horrifying. I couldn’t believe I wanted to see someone kill Sam. But if it would lead us to the killer, I knew it would be worth it.
“Are you sure about this, Molly? Elsie asked. “The last time, with Olivia, was dreadful.”
“Elsie’s right,” Dorothy agreed. “I hoped we wouldn’t have to do this again.”
“I’m glad I wasn’t there,” O
livia chimed in. “I can’t stand the sight of blood.”
Dorothy shrugged and we kept walking.
An officer at the beach stopped us before we could enter the crime scene. The yellow tape, which was stapled to four poles, flapped mournfully in the ocean breeze. There were no swimmers, only a few surfers trying their luck with lackluster waves.
“You can’t go past the tape,” the officer explained. “There’s been a murder. We might need to collect more evidence.”
It made me feel a little better that I didn’t know him as I muttered a confusion spell. I was as surprised as anyone when it worked and he wandered off to sit in his police car.
“Well, someone is feeling her oats today,” Elsie remarked. “You didn’t even ask for help with that spell.”
“It’s the amulet,” Olivia said. “Even I can feel its emanations.”
“I think it’s great that Molly can do a spell by herself.” Dorothy smiled and patted my back. “Congrats!”
Why didn’t I feel any better after that glowing support? Instead I felt like someone who needed to have her hand held while she crossed the street.
Olivia and Elsie both snickered at Dorothy’s response.
I took the high road and didn’t say a thing about Dorothy’s tone, which she might have used with a toddler at the library. “Let’s get this done quickly. I didn’t create the spell to last for long.”
We went inside the crime scene. There were shoe prints and crushed plants but no blood, as Joe had said of the previous deaths. The police were lucky the attack had taken place far enough from the surf that the crime scene hadn’t been affected by high tide.
“Let’s hold hands and use our tools to enhance what we can see,” I said.
Olivia was hovering over us, buffeted but not really affected by the strong wind. She had a look of profound sorrow on her face. I wished I could reach across and hold her hand too. But even a witch couldn’t reach through that barrier.
Because there was no blood, it made seeing Sam’s death harder. Bonds of blood and friendship had made finding the shadows that had remained after Olivia’s death easier for us. But finally, Sam’s shadow form began to reveal itself. We waited patiently to see the killer.